Morning folks.
We had the enormous hotel restaurant all to ourselves for breakfast. The hotel is apparently owned by a 3 star general and ex Khmer Rouge officer. No expense had been spared on the place and it’s almost obscene as to the amount of ornate hardwood furniture there is around. Everything is very heavy solid teak. They are cutting trees down at an alarming rate and very much of the logging is illegal.
Breakfast done we set out on a 4.5 hour road trip to Stung Treng, which sits on the banks of the Tonle Sap river. This river flows...

306 days of travel
162 days on the bike
9600KM: Total riden as of Feb 9th
3200km: India
4200km: China
1635km: Laos
800km: Cambodia (so far)
We had ridden 1200km since exiting China and time was running out on our 30 day Laos visa. We had three days to ride the 400km to the border OR we could hop a bus. Since leaving the hills of northern Laos, the riding days had become long and hot with scenery remaining the same day after day. After nearly 6 months of riding in the mountains and hills of northern India, Southern China and northern Laos,...

Whatever I or any of us write about Cambodia needs to be taken in the context of the recent history of this country.
I'm glad that I didn't get around to writing my logs on Cambodia until after I'd travelled through the north east of the country and had a chance to visit and experience Phnom Penh and in particular the Killing Fields and the S-21 prison. Because only when you look at the devastating events that took place 30 or so years ago do you get a sense for the people and this country.
If the people look poorer , less happy, less...

So I have been sick for the past three days and I'm feeling better now. Thank God! I ate something that didn't agree with my stomach. I had not been that sick for a really long time but Andrew took really good care of me and got me all the meds I needed to get well. His Grandfather is doing better by the way and he will not be leaving to go back home any time soon. So thats good news.
So a lot has happend but I will start with the most memorable part of Phnom Penh which is not on the best of notes. About a week ago we met up with our...

We boarded a mini bus to Stung Streng where we were told we would board a boat to the Laos border and on to the Si Phan Don, Four thousand Islands. There were four of us on the mini bus, Fatima and I, Ursula from Switzerland, and a young lad, Christian, from the UK, half empty. The driver saw this as an opportunity to make a few extra Riel and pick up six more locals and drop them off at various locations on the way. Three of us were then dropped off at Riche's Restaurant, Stung Streng, leaving Christian on board looking very worried and...

22 March 06 - To Stung Treng
I was up really early, had breakfast and then Soccer took me at 0715 to the Tribal Hotel and Pierette was sitting there looking a lot happier than yesterday. Soon Dan and Rachel joined us, and Pierette went off in her taxi and we got in another with an Israeli chap called Aaron, who had spent 6 nights in Banlung doing nothing but eat and read! Our taxi left at 0815 and, joy of joys, it was just the four of us and the driver, who was a particularly careful driver.
After just one brief stop we got into Stung...

19 March - To Stung Treng
I had some time to catch up with a bit of internetting and had lunch by the river. Went for the 1400 bus at 1330, bumping into Wanda who took me with my luggage on his bike. He said he could travel free as he used to do some work for the bus company. I was feeling much better today, so was kinder to him and apologised for being a little off. It seemed he had picked up my cold. The bus arrived at 1430, having come from Phnomh Penh. There were three other westerners on it. Wanda sat next to me. He admitted that he...

Ah, land borders are always an adventure. And the fact that neither the Laos nor Cambodia guide books mentioned much about the only border between the two countries should have been our first clue that this was not going to be easy. But we knew it was possible and had met people who had done it so we stuck to our plan.
At 8:30 in the morning we took the dollar boat across the Mekong to the mainland. From there we walked the 1km to the main road where we knew we could pick up some transport. After waiting an hour in the hot morning sun we...

Another early start waiting for the bus at 6.50am. Met a lovely girl from Scotland - Ruth - who is also travelling to Stung Treng and then on to Laos. Not a very eventful trip, just 12 hours of sitting on the bus. At the first stop they had the fried spiders. Not game to try them this time. Women carry around trays with lots of spiders piled up on them. They are obviously cooked and have a yellowish liquid oozing out of them. Doesn't sound so nice eh! The roads weren't so bad. If you read the guide books they all say how horrible the roads...

If you're planning on crossing between Cambodia and Laos via their overland crossing, you'll have no choice but to pass through Stung Treng, the capital of the same-named province that straddles the northern reaches of the Mekong River.
Many who arrive here tend to pass on through, rushing down to Kratie or even onto Phnom Penh, but, as with most Khmer towns on the river, Stung Treng has enough back alleys and loads of pleasant waterfront that an overnight stay is anything but a bad idea.
Within thirty minutes of arrival I struck up a...

Traveling with one person is hard enough (who's writing this entry, anyway?) But traveling with eleven people is a different matter entirely. If you've been to this website before you know that border crossings tend to get a lot coverage. For whatever reason, border crossings bring out the best in us. Moving between Laos and Cambodia proved a new one in the annals of crossings, and like most it starts with a terrible breakfast.
Mr. Mo, the Don Corleon of Don Det, was kind enough to lure us into his graces and promised us unrivaled service...

Crossed the border north of Stung Treng. At least what looked like a border! In fact, it was nothing more than a wooden shack in the middle of nowhere, where we got our passports stamped and a small barrier (like a carpark barrier) but you can walk around it anyway so its pretty pointless.
Each of us had to pay the border guards a scammy $1 on the Cambodian side, and a ridiculous $2 on the Lao side, no doubt straight into their beer kitty for the evening.
Being the tight soles that we are, needless to say we were both pretty steaming,...